Danny's Mistake
by BigSword
Summary: A smart-mouthed Tarutaru named Danny makes a fatal mistake...


**Danny's Mistake**

"Come, my child. You have a destiny to fulfill."

Danny had heard the voice, but he could not tell where it was coming from. He looked around the blackened cavern in which he stood, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. But it was no use. It was everywhere. It seemed to come from the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the very air itself. There was no escaping it.

"Destiny? What kind of shit is that?" Danny shouted into the darkness, hoping that perhaps the voice could hear him too.

"Destiny is the path upon which you must walk. It is already laid before your feet. You have no choice. It was decided eons ago, precluding even time itself. And now is the time in which it must come to pass," the voice echoed back. So it could hear him. Good, Danny thought. At least now I can tell it I don't intend to be tied down to any "destiny."

"Well," Danny said, pacing around the room. "What if I don't want my destiny? What if I say no? What then? Will the world end? Will millions of innocent lives be lost? Will hundreds of thousands of wholesome virgins be ravaged by wild and carnal beasts who's every thought dwells on the basest things of society? Will all of the civilized world be dragged screaming down into endless torment by innumerable fiends so despicable and foul that Hell itself spat them back out? Or, worse yet, will my dinner get cold? Oh no! Please! Not my dinner! Not my delicious, delectable, desirable dinner! Whatever shall I do without it? You know I can't stand those peas when they're cold!"

"You cannot-"

"Hold it! I'm not finished yet!" Danny interrupted the voice. "What makes you think you have any right to tell me what my destiny is? Who the hell are you anyway? How do you know I even have a destiny? What if you got the wrong guy? What if I'm just some ordinary Tarutaru with no destiny at all? What if I have no future?"

"It is written in the stars. There can be no mistake."

"Bullshit! That's bullshit, you hear? 'Written in the stars' my ass! You're just some cockamamie, disembodied voice with nothing better to do than shit on the little guy!"

"You do not understand. It is your destiny. You cannot escape it."

"Like hell I can't! You just watch me! When I get out of here, I'll show you and all your little fucking friends what MY destiny is! I'll go home to Windurst, open up a little shop, and sell fruit to adventurers! THAT'S my destiny! None of this shit about the stars and some path being chosen before the eons of time. I'll make my OWN choices, thank you very much!"

For a moment, the voice was silent, and Danny stood alone, breathing heavily. Then the voice spoke. "You are certainly a very discerning individual, for that which you have mentioned is indeed the very destiny of which I was to inform you. I was also come to help you escape this cavern alive. But since you're so very independent, I think I'll let you handle that part on your own. After-all, I'm sure an entire army of Quadav can't be TOO hard to handle, especially for one so bold and outspoken as yourself! Farewell!"

"What? Where are you going?" Danny pounded his tight little fists on the wall of the cavern. "You mean my destiny was to sell fruit to adventurers? Wait! Come back! How will I get out of here? Please! I need your help!" But it was no use. The voice was gone. "Please. . ." Danny sunk to the floor, his strength spent. "I've been lost in here for nearly two days now," he whispered, hoping that the voice would still hear him, "and I -"

Suddenly, Danny noticed two gleaming points of light, staring at him from the darkness atop an overhang which surrounded nearly the entire cavernous room. There was some kind of creature up there in the darkness, and it was watching him. Frantically, Danny stood up, and backed slowly away from the the thing, not daring to take his eyes off it. But as he neared the center of the room, he saw other eyes, tiny pinpoints of light, reflecting back what little illumination the cavern held. First just a few here and there, then others came. From all angles, they emerged from the shadows of unseen tunnels and passages hidden in the darkness, spilling forth like a thousand enormous insects. Danny's blood ran cold as he realized what they were. Quadav. They came and came, the cacophony of their hollow, screeching tongue filling the cavern. Danny suddenly wished very much that he had listened to the voice. But now it was too late. There would be no escape. He was going to die in this place. He lifted his head up, screaming to the heavens as the creatures descended upon him.

**THE END**


End file.
